The World Medical Association has called on the Israeli government to ensure humanitarian aid reaches Gaza. Although we believe that every call made on this issue is important, being able to express the truth as it is necessary not only to be able to correctly name what happened in the eyes of history but also for the law to function properly in order to achieve the justice that we hope will be provided one day.

The World Medical Association’s statement is dominated by a language that accepts both sides as equal. It warns both sides, “Both sides must respect humanitarian law. That means protecting health care facilities and staff -not attacking or misusing them-”. In its statement, the World Medical Association implies that the Palestinian side started the war with the October 7 attack carried out by Hamas and calls on Hamas to release the hostages it holds immediately. However, the war did not start on October 7, and neither are the people held hostage by Hamas the only ones in question. There are two sides that are enormously unequal in every respect, with the stronger being the Israeli government. Therefore, the main addressee of the World Medical Association’s call should be the Israeli government.

At this point in the genocidal process in which tens of thousands of Palestinians have been shot, bombed, burned, starved and massacred with all kinds of violence beyond human understanding since October 7, 2023, Israel receives its strongest support from the silence of states, international organizations and democratic mass organizations. While the number of attacks on hospitals alone has reached 700 and more than 1,500 healthcare workers have lost their lives, the entire world, especially healthcare organizations, must speak out louder.

It is the responsibility of all the peoples of the world, all states, international organizations and democratic mass organizations to defend the right to life of Palestinians who are being burned in schools and hospitals where they take shelter, shot while waiting in line for food, bombed while sleeping in their tents, left under the rubble of their homes and hospitals, killed by hunger, thirst and lack of medicine, and whose lives are being taken away from them in their occupied lands.

We call on all states, especially Turkey, to freeze all military and commercial relations with Israel until a complete and permanent ceasefire is achieved, to impose a full embargo on Israel, and to pressure Israel to open the border crossings  so that the Palestinian people can receive the necessary and sufficient amounts of food and humanitarian aid they need! The stage that genocide has reached is a problem for all of humanity, and solving it is the responsibility of all of humanity!

The Istanbul Medical Chamber

Solidarity with Palestine Working Group